Apparatus for packing mechanically goods of every kind



Dec. 26, 1961 H. LEscl-l 3,014,321

' APPARATUS POR PACKING MECHANICALLY Goons 0F EVERY KIND Filed June 29, I1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F1a-2'. HG. 3.

INVENTOR HANS LESCH H. LESCH Dec. 26, 1961 APPARATUSv FOR PACKING MECHANICALLY GOODS OF EVERY KIND 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 29, 1959 W um C1,

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ATTORNEY.

Dec. 26, 1961 H. LEscH 3,014,321

APPARATUS FOR PACKING MECHANICALLY GOODS OF EVERY KIND Filed June 29, 1959 s sheets-sheet s INVENTOR HANS LESCH BY WMV ATTORNEY.

- stilen the wrapper.

s 014 321 APPARATUS Fon PCKING MECHANICALLY v Goons or EVERY KIND Hans Lesch, Hannover, Germany, assignor to Firma Otto Hansel Junior G.m.b.H., Hannover, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed .lune 29, 1959, Ser. No. 823,386 6 Claims. (Cl. 5.3-195) The present invention relates to an apparatus for mechanically packing goods of every kind. As is known, it is difficult -to pack mechanically a greater number of individual pieces or bulk goods. In particular, this relates to candy, cookies, chocolate tablets,'etc. when these are of irregular shape. To pack such articles, pre- Vfabricated cardboard boxes or packing ba-gs have been used so far which were filled with the goods to be packed.

Therefore, it was necessary to employ a machine producing the packing, a filling machine for the goods, anda suitable apparatus to close the prefabricated bags, boxes, or the like after they had been filled.

It is one object of the present .invention to provide an apparatus for packing mechanically goods of every kind 'which avoids the described drawbacks.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for mechanically packing goods of every kind, wherein at iirstthe goods to be packed are filled into Y a box having at least one open side, whereupon a cut piece of wrapping material is placed :around the filled box 'v .and closed except for the end fold, after which operation the box is pulled out of the Wrapper while the goods are t retained in the latter, which is then closed completely.

Before or after the goods have been filled into the box chines.; It is of particular advantage to pack sweets, fruit, food, bulk goods, as cofee, sugar, or the like, as-

: 'well'as individual pieces, as for instance ladies stockings, sewing things, or small household articles in this manner.

vIt is also an'other object of the present invention to-provide an apparatus lfor packing mechanically goods of every j kind,"wherein box conveying means carrying a pluralityj of boxes with at least one open end to a filling station, y where the material tol be packed is filled into the boxes, and a wrapping station where the wrapping material is placed around the filled boxes, are employed. Furthermore, a box remover is provided to pull the boxes out of Y the wrapping, when the latter is still open at one side, the

goods to be packed being left in the wrapping, and the boxes being returned tothe iillingstation, whereupon closing means close the wrapper completely.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide l ,an apparatus for packing mechanically goods ofevery kind, wherein preferably, theboxes cons-ist of stiff material, like metal, plastic, wood, orfthe like and have a U-shaped cross-' section. Their ends are open and they are provided with ahandle or the like at one side.

t It is yet a further object of the present inventionto provide an apparatus for packing mechanically goods of every kind, wherein the box conveying means and the return device may be lformed of parallel endless belts, chains,

- and the like which connect the filling station and the i United states Pa-:eat oF the goods to be packed.

Patented` Dec.` 26, 1961 wrapping station and vice versa. A pushing member reciprocating at the end of the return device transverse to the direction of supply, pushes the empty boxes, one after another, onto the conveyor belt, chain, or the like passing through the filling station. Near the filling station the conveyor means may be inclined transverse to the direction of travel and slide along a rail or the like in a manner so that the side of the box provided with the handle is directed upwards and the lower end ofthe box covered by the rail. -In this position, the box is ready to receive In front of -and/ or behind the filling stat-ion, feeding members may be provided for shims which later serve to stiften the packing and which will be enclosed by the wrapping material.

The construction of the wrapping-station is known. Itmay comprise :a feeding member for the Wrapping material and conventional folding and closing members or a folding tunnel or the like. A box remover is located in front'of the members producing the end fold and consists of reciprocating grippers, hooks, or the like seizing the boxes and'co-operating with an abutment or the like which is placed in front of the goods in the packing.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the laccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURES l to l0 are diagrammatic perspective views showing the different steps of the packing operations;

FIGS. llA and 11B are jointly a side elevational view ofa packing machine;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are jointly atop plan viewvof the machine, shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B;

FIG. 13 is a section along the lines 1.3-13 of FIG. 12; FIG. 14 is a section along the lines 14--14 of FIG. 12A; FIG. l5 is a section along the lines 15--15 of FIG. 12B; VFIG. Y16 is a top plan view of the packing machine shown in FIG. 15; :and

FIGS. 17 and 18 are sections similar to those shown in .,FIGS. 15 andy 16, yet with severalv members in different working positions. y

Referring now tothe drawings, and in particular to FIGS. l -to l0, the different packing operations `are illustrated. Boxes a are employed which will be described later. The boxes are taken to the iilling stait-on where they receive a cardboard shim b or the like (FIG. 2).

Y Then, theV goods c to be packed are filled into the box a.

It is of no Vimportancewhether the goods are individual pieces of thesame-or different shape and size or bulk goods. After inserting into the box the shim b, filling therein the goods c (KFIG. 3), another reinforcing shim d is placed on top (FIG. 4). Now, the box a can be covered with :a cut piece of wrapping material e. It is tobe understood that several pieces of wrapping material may beemployed. For vbetter understanding and illustration,

a transparent wrapping material, of `cellophane for instance, has been used in this case. During the next operation (-FIG. 5'), the `filled box together with the wrapping Vmaterial is passed through a folding tunnel or through f folding` and closing members which fold 'the wrapping materiale around the box a (FIG. 6). After that, the end fold is made by suitably arranged folding and closing members, so that eventually a packing ex, closed at one end and open at the other end, is formed which also encloses the box a, as illustrated in FIG. '7.

During the following operation, removing means,

rial 24 over the box.

grippers, a hook, or the like, pulls the box a out of the .open wrapper ef .(FIG. 8), the goods contained in the box being retained in the Wrapper by means of an abutment, a stop (not shown) or the like.

The boxes a, pulled out of the packing, are now returned to the illing station as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 8 while the wrapper e', containing the goods to be packed and the two shims b and d, is forwarded to the closing station where, as shown in FIG. 9, the wrappers open side is closed by folding or by compressing it in a manner illustrated in FIG. 10 so that the wrapper may be closed by folding or welding or clamping.

Preferably, the boxes a are of U-shaped cross-section, having a bottom 1 and upright side walls 2. At one end the bottom 1 is extended to form a handle 3, provided with an opening 4. The handle 3 protrudes from the wrapper which is closed at one side, so that it is easy to pull the box out of the wrapper by means of grippers or the like reaching into the opening 4. At the same time, a plate, abutment, or the like is introduced into the box to retain the goods in the wrapper when the box is -pulled out.

Referring now to FIGS. 11A, 11B to 18 of the drawings, the boxes are moved by two parallel conveyors 5 and 6, moving over rollers 7 in opposite directions, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 12A. Above the conveyors 5 and 6, guide rail-s 8 are provided, guiding and centering the boxes a in each station. Furthermore, a feeding Atable 9 is arranged above the conveyors 5 and 6 for storing the goods 10 to be packed.

Near the filling station the conveyor 5 is inclined in a manner shown in FIG. 13, so that the side of the boxes a opposite the handle end rests against the guide 8. In this position the goods 10 to be packed :are easily filled into the box, as shown in FIG. 13. A shim b has previously been inserted into the box a. Said'shim b is taken from a hopper 11 disposed atone end of the conveyors 5 and 6, from which the shims b are ejected by -means of a transversely reciprocating -pus'her member 12. The same member 12 also pushes the empty boxes a from the return conveyor 6 to the conveyor 5 (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 12A).

Theconveyor 5 transports thetilled boxes to a rest 13. Behind the rest a'plunger 15 is arranged, controlled by a -cam 14. When moving up and down, the plunger lifts the iilled boxes upto the level lof'slide rails 16. A horizontally moving pusher 17 moves theboxesotf the plunger 15 onto `the slide rails 16. Funther transport of the boxes is through meanslof'a transport chain 18 provided with suitable pins 19, pawls, or the like. At the lsame time, another shim 20 is taken out of a stack or hopper 21 and placed on top of the packing.

The chain 18 takes -the boxes a to another plunger 22 moving upwards, as is shown in FIG. 11B. Horizontally moving pliers 23 :now draw a cut piece of wrapping mate- An upper plunger 25 holds the wrapping material in place on the box. Both plungers 25 yand 22 move upwardsithrough a folding tunnel 26 so that .during this operation the wrapping material 24 is folded around Athe box. v

After the return-of :the lower plunger 22 a reciprocating folding member 29 produces the bottom fold, and then a horizontally moving pusher 27 forwards the box together with the wrapper onto a plate 28 so that through this action the opposite part of the wrapping material is also folded. Now, vfolding members 30 produce the face folds 12B, to pull the box out of the wrapper, while the contents of the packing are retained in the packing by means of the retainer 32. This operation is illustrated in detail in FIG. 14.

The empty box pulled out of the wrapper by the hook 33 slides down a suitable chute 34 onto the conveyor 6 which returns the empty boxes to the filling station. On the other hand, the packings reach a conveyor 35, provided with pawls, pins, or the like 36 and moving in the direction indicated by arrows in FIG. 11B. Now, the open end of the packing has to be closed. Conveniently, this is being done by closing means 37 which curl or compress the protruding part of the wrapper. It is to be understood that the packing may also be closed by folding and glueing or welding.

FIGS. 15 to 18 are detailed views of the closing operations. As can be seen, a lap 38 or the like is formed of the wrapper. A sealing ribbon 41 is drawn off a roller 39, passes through transport rollers 40 and a pair of scissors 42 and, by means of folding and pressing members 43, is put around the lap 38 in the manner illustrated. To fold the sealing ribbon 41 in the form of a U, holders 44 and 45 are provided. If desired, a tear-off strip, a handle, a label, or the like may be inserted in the sealing ribbon 41 or in the lap 38. Eventually, the closed packings e" reach a conveyor 46 which forwards the packings for storage or further handling.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

l. An apparatus, for wrapping mechanically goods, particularly groups of goods of every kind, comprising a plurality-of loose boxes open at least at one end, conveying means, a tilling station, a wrapping station, a box removal station anda wrapper closing station, said conveying means feeding said loose boxes from said filling station through said intermediate stations into Isaid wrapper closing station, said filling station being adapted to fill said boxes with said goods, said wrapping station includngmeans for wrapping a length of material around each of said loose boxes individually, said box removal station including means for removing each of said boxes separately from the corresponding wrappers open at one end yand retaining said goods in said wrappers, said wrapperclosing station including means for closing the open end of said Wrapper, and said conveying means returning `said removed boxes to said filling station.

2. The apparatus, as set forth in claim '1, wherein said conveying means comprises a iirst endless conveyor band for feeding said boxes through said stations and a second endless conveyor band for returning said boxes to said tilling station, said conveyor bands being disposed parallel towards each other, a pusher member disposed at the end of said second endless conveyor band, taken in the direction of movement of the latter conveyor band, and reciprocating crosswise to the direction of movement of said conveyor bands, said pusher member moving successively said returned boxes from said second endv less conveyor band onto said tirst endless conveyor band,

to enter again said filling station.

3. The apparatus, asset forth in claim 2 which intcludes a hopper member disposed in front of said filling station and adapted to receive a plurality of shims in superposed position.

4. The apparatus, as set forth in claim v2, which includes a hopper member disposed behind said filling station and adapted to receive a plurality of shims in supereasy removal of said boxes from their corresponding References Cited inthe le of this patent Wrappers' UNITED STATES PATENTS 6. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said 1 592 767 House July 13 1926 rst endless conveyor is inclined within the range of 2208776 Sandberg Juy 23 1940 said lling station, and a feeding table disposed adjacent 5 2555585 Farbank June 5: 1951 said conveying means for storing said goods to be packed, 625:775 Tamarin et al. Ian. 20, 1953 said boxes having their gripping means yand their open end 2,737,000 Mccargar Man 6, 1956 pointing upwardly towards said feeding table in order 2,345,763 Wonsidler Aug 5 195g to receive said goods from the latter. 2,881,574 Wardell Apr. 14, 1959 

